Jailed journalist Hipwell is freed

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Former Daily Mirror journalist James Hipwell has been freed after serving just over six weeks in prison after being convicted of insider dealing.

Hipwell, 40, is currently weighing up book deals and starting his bid to rebuild his career in journalism. He has been released on licence to serve the rest of his three month sentence wearing a parole tag.

He served the last week of his sentence in an open prison in Richmond after his lawyers fought for his move from a category C closed jail. They argued that he was being kept in a closed prison unnecessarily as he posed no threat to society.

Although he lost his appeal against sentence, Hipwell intends to continue with his appeal against conviction. He was punished for making £41,000 in a "tip, buy and sell" conspiracy through his City Slickers column at the Daily Mirror between 1999 and 2000.

He told Press Gazette today: “I’m a journalist and I’ve been to prison and I don’t think many journalists have that unique experience. I want to use it to try and write about prison matters, about prison reform and that sort of thing. I really treated it as a journalistic exercise.

“I did a diary in The Guardian and I’d like to do some more pieces. It’s a salutary lesson and I don’t think I’ll be going back inside again.”